Combination table lock and opener.



G. T. BUBBLE:

COMBINATION TABLE LOCK AND OPENER. APPLICATION FILED MAY23| 19H.

Patented Apnl6, 1918.

GEORGE '1. BUD DI. E, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COMBINATION TABLE LOCK AND OPENER.

Application filed May 23, 1917. Serial No. 170,502.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE T. BUDDLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Combination Table Lock and Opener, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to combination table locks and openers, one of its objects being to provide a simple device which can be fastened readily to the bottom faces of the end sections of an extension table and which when shifted in one direction will draw the sections together tightly and hold them so that they cannot pull apart until the operating member of the device is first shifted. A further object is toprovide a device of this character which, when moved in one direction will not only unlock the two table sections, but will also move them apart so that it becomes an easy matter thereafter to further extend the table.

A still further object is to simplify and otherwise improve upon the construction of devices of this character such as heretofore used and one of which has been shown, for example, in Patent No. 1,103,029, issued to me on July 14, 1914:. Heretofore it has been necessary to utilize stop devices provided especially for limiting the movement of the parts. It is an object of the present inven tion to do away with special stop devices and utilize as stops certain parts having other functions, thereby materially reducing the cost of producing the device.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown. In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of a portion of an extension table having the present improvements combined therewith, the sections being shown separated.-

Fig, 2 is a similar view showing the table sections drawn together and locked.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the figures by characters of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 16, 1918.

reference, A and B designate the relatively movable sections of the top of an extension table. Secured to the bottom of the section B so as to project slightly beyond the inner edge thereof is a plate 1 having an ear 2extending downwardly therefrom. Another plate 3 is secured to the section A close to the inner edge thereof and is held thereto by obliquely disposed screws 4:, the heads of which project downwardly below the surface of the plate and constitute stops for a shifting lever 5 which is pivotally mounted on a stud 6 extending from the plate. One end of this lever projects beyond the inner edge of the section A and has a shiftingcam 7 projecting therefrom at one side. This cam is spaced from a curved grippingtongue 8 so that an arcuate slot!) is thus provided between the cam and the tongue. The parts are so proportioned'that when the lever 5 is bearing laterally against the stops 4: the end of the cam 7 i is held in the path of one side portion of the ear 2 while the end of the tongue 8 is removed from the path of said ear.

A plate 10 the middle portion of which is preferably offset downwardly as indicated at 11 is secured to the bottom face of the section A at points removed from the plate 3. Extending from this plate is a pivot stud 12 having a head 13 above and engaging the odset portion 11 of the plate, and mounted on this stud is a handle lever 14. That portion of the stud projecting below the handle lever is enlarged to constitute a stop 15.

'Pivotally connected to the handle lever is one end portion of a link 16 the other end portion of which is pivotally attached as at 17 to the lever 5. This link 16 is ofiset near its ends as indicated at 18 so as to be capable of stretching and contracting to a limited extent.

The pivot connecting the link 16 to the handle lever 14 has been indicated at 19 and extending from the link close to this pivot is a finger 20 adapted to move laterally against the stop portion 15 of the stud 12 and thus limit the relative movement of the handle lever and the link when said lever is moved in one direction. The parts are so proportioned that the finger 20 will not engage the stop 15 until after the pivot 19 has passed the dead center between the pivots 17 and 15. See Fig. 2. "With the parts positioned as shown in Fig. 1, it will be apparent that when the sections A and B are moved toward each other the ear 2 will come against the cam 7 as shown. By then pulling the handle lever 14 in the direction indicatedby the arrow in Fig. 1, the tongue 8 will be caused to swing into position back of the ear 2 and pull said ear toward the section A with the result that section B will be pulled against the section A. Continued movement of the handle lever 14: will cause the link 16 to slightly buckle until the pivot 19 has'passed the dead. center and the finger 20 has come against the stop portion 15, whereupon the parts will be securely locked and the sections cannot be pulled apart unless the movemer t of the handle lever 14: is reversed. During this reverse movement the cam 7 will press against the ear 2 and thrust the section B away from the section A until the parts assume the relative positions shown in Fig. 1.

Importance is attached to the fact that the lever 14 is provided with two arms one of which constitutes the handle while the other arm carries the pivot 19. lhis arrangement gives a greater leverage than has heretofore been possible in the practical table lock of the same type.

What is claimed is: c

1. The combination with relatively movable table top sections and an ear projecting "downwardly from oneof the sections, of an attaching plate secured to the other section, combined fastening means and stops enga ing the plate, a shifting lever pivotally mounted on said plate and limited by said Copies of this patent may be obtained for stops, a cam projecting from one end of the lever, an arcuate tongue extending from said end of thelever, said tongue and cam being separated byan arcuate ear receiving slot, handle lever, means for attaching the same to a top section, and a link connection between the two levers.

2. The combination with relatively movable table top sections and an ear projecting from one of the sections,'of plates secured to the other section, combined fastening and stop devices engaging one ofthe plates, a shifting lever pivotally connected to said la st named plate, a cam projecting from one end of the lever, an areuate tongue extending from said end of the lever, the tongue and cam being spaced by an ear'receiving slot, a handle lever, a pivot stud extending from the other plate and through the handle lever,

and having an enlarged terminal forming a stop portlon, a link oi'lset between 1ts ends and pivotally connected to the two levers, and a stop finger upon the link and movable against said stop portion when the pivotal connection between the link and the handle lever is moved past the dead center.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

Gno. H. LESWAQN, C. BARNES KNUDSON.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

